A modern vehicle may be equipped with different protection means for mitigating the consequences of a collision. The protection means may be preventive, i.e., intended to be activated before the collision, and/or they may be protective, i.e., intended to be activated during the collision. The protection means may be external to the vehicle, e.g., being activated on the outside of the vehicle in case of a collision with a vulnerable road user in order to protect the vulnerable road user, such as a pedestrian airbag or a deployable bonnet. The protection means may be internal, i.e., used within the vehicle, e.g., intended to protect a user of the vehicle, such as a driver or a passenger.
The protection means may further be characterized as reversible or irreversible. If reversible, the protection means may be used again. If irreversible, the protection means is to be reset or replaced to be ready for use again. This may lead to costly repairs and/or vehicle user dissatisfaction. Further, there may be a maximum number of activations for a reversible protection means and/or it may cost some time and effort to reset it. There is therefore a desire to avoid activating a protection means, if it will not help to mitigate the consequence of the collision.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,636,625 B2 discloses a device for classifying at least one object with the aid of an environmental sensor system. The device classifies the at least one object on the basis of its velocity and acceleration, the device determining the velocity and the acceleration from a signal of the environmental sensor system. The device is adapted to be coupled to a restraint system and is capable of controlling the restraint system as a function of the classification. The device classifies the object as a vehicle object or a pedestrian object.